Mary Beth Maxwell was the founding executive director of

American Rights at Work American Rights at Work (ARAW) was a U.S. self-described nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for workers and their right to form unions without interference. ARAW received funding from unions affiliated with both the AFL-CIO and ...

and the author of the organization's inaugural report. Maxwell was chosen in April 2009 by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to be senior advisor in the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

. While at Labor she has served as both the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, and principal deputy assistant secretary for policy.

Career

Maxwell previously served as national field director for

Jobs with Justice Jobs With Justice (JWJ) is a labor rights organization in the United States, focused on the vision that all workers should be able to collectively bargain. It was founded in 1987 and is made up of individuals and affiliated organizations. As of ...

, where she helped quadruple the number of local affiliates, with similar growth in the organization's national staff. As a result, the organization engaged new allies, mobilized support, and built relationships with stakeholders to broaden and strengthen the causes of worker and economic justice. Prior to Jobs with Justice, she was deputy field director for

NARAL Pro-Choice America Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...

, directing the pro-choice organization’s electoral, legislative, media and fundraising training programs for local affiliates. She also served as field director for the

United States Student Association The United States Student Association (USSA) is an American national student advocacy association. It serves as the national student government A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universi ...

where she designed field programs to organize students in targeted congressional districts to impact higher education policy, and managed a leadership development and grassroots action program, which mobilized thousands of students. She currently sits on the board of directors of The Discount Foundation. Maxwell was rumored to be a serious candidate for Secretary of Labor in

's administration. She would have been the first openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

cabinet secretary. Instead, Obama selected

Hilda Solis Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as pa ...

, a member of Congress.

Personal life and education

Maxwell lives in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with her seven-year-old adopted son.American Rights at Work bio
Maxwell earned a BA in English, philosophy and political science from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Mary Beth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American workers' rights activists United States Department of Labor officials Obama administration personnel 21st-century American LGBTQ people American lesbians Marquette University alumni